School vehicles parked outside premises on Residency Road and St Mark’s Road is causing traffic chaos, complain motorists.
The vehicles that ferry students are parked on the main road though the schools have enough space on their premises. The school buses, vans and other private vehicles parked haphazardly outside many schools in the central business district (CBD) has led to traffic bottlenecks on Brigade Road, MG Road, Richmond Road and surrounding roads. The traffic police have been working hard to beat the problem, every day.
Sangeetha Krishnan, a motorist who takes this stretch to go towards MG Road, said, “The main reason for traffic snarls in this stretch is the vehicles lining up to pick up and drop children.”
“Parents double-park on the road though parking is restricted. Pedestrians are forced to walk on the road as the footpaths are taken up.”
Several schools in the city advanced timing a few years ago from 8 am to 3 pm to avoid clashing with office timings so that there is no traffic congestion around schools.
But it has not led to any solution, said Ramesh Reddy, a resident of Lavelle Road. “Cars, private transport vehicles and vans that come to pick up kids continue to stop haphazardly in front of schools. The school management has to control the vehicles and find alternative measures,” he said.
The residents also complained about incessant honking and the need to protect schoolchildren from the risk of serious accidents.
M N Srihari, a traffic expert and a former advisor to the state government on matters of traffic and infrastructure, said: “These schools are violating the law. There is a rule in the education department that the schools should be given permission only if they have adequate parking area inside there premises.”
“Both the school management and the police are not following the rules to avoid the school vans parking on the road. Police have all the right to take action against the school management,” Srihari added.
To resolve this rising problem, the city traffic top brass will ask all schools in the CBD to find parking for their vehicles within the campus.
Additional Commissioner (Traffic) P Harishekaran said, “We will direct school managements to use the grounds or the adequate space inside the school premises to avoid traffic jams.”